Acornhoek Advice Centre

The Acornhoek Advice Centre was established in 2000 as part of the Refugee Research Project’s involvement in the South African Government’s 1999/2000 Exemption for Former Mozambican Refugees, through which Mozambicans who had arrived in South Africa during the civil war (e.g. before December 1992) could apply for permanent residence in South Africa. During and after the Exemption period, the AAC was one of several NGOs which disseminated information about the Exemption in rural areas, provided advice to applicants, monitored government application points, and provided support with appeals.

After the Exemption and appeals period ended, the AAC became an established paralegal advice centre – the only one in Bushbuckridge District, serving southern Limpopo and northern Mpumalanga Provinces. From 2002 – 2005 the AAC provided free paralegal advice to poor residents of Bushbuckridge district and surrounding areas, independently of their nationality or legal status. Its aims were to enable poor South African nationals and immigrants alike to access government services and labour rights, and claim their rights under the South African Constitution. The AAC combined individual advice with community awareness raising and local, provincial and national advocacy. The Centre contributed to the integration of immigrants and former refugees by increasing respect for rights and due process in poor, isolated communities generally, and by including former refugees in a broader agenda of service access and poverty alleviation, rather than providing special services to them. In this, it reflected international best practice in projects supporting immigrant integration by focusing equally on the needs of the host community.

In 2005, the AAC was integrated into RADAR, a programme of the Wits School of Public Health, due to the lack of funding for independent advice centres.